curtail
/kɚˈteɪl/verb, noun
curtail is spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, curtail means “To shorten or abridge the duration of; to bring an end to; to truncate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in curtail?
| Letters | 7: C-U-R-T-A-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is curtail?
Curtail appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce curtail?
- UK /kɜːˈteɪl/
- US /kɚˈteɪl/
Curtail has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-curtail.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with curtail?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as curtail from its last stressed vowel (/eɪl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: trucial.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of curtail
- curtails present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- curtailing participle, present
- curtailed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does curtail mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo cut short the tail of (an animal).
Curtailing horses procured long horse-hair.
- 2
To shorten or abridge the duration of; to bring an end to; to truncate.
When the audience grew restless, the speaker curtailed her speech.
- 3
To limit or restrict; to keep in check.
noun
- 1
A scroll termination, as of a step, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Curtail in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | écourter , abréger , restreindre |
| German | kupieren , beschneiden, stutzen, verkürzen , beschränken |
| Portuguese | derrabar , encurtar , limitar, restringir |
| Spanish | acortar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.